Telling Everyone
by DarkShadowFlame
Summary: Draco and Harry have been dating secretly for a few months. But they're tired of keeping it hidden. They're going to tell EVERYONE... one way or another.


**Telling Everyone**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, any of his friends, any of his teachers, or any of his enemies. I just lump them all into one to make an entirely twisted short story.

**Note:** **AU after Book 5**! Takes place in Harry's sixth year. This is a parody-ish kind of story, with lots of OOCness. I apologize for the choppiness.

* * *

"Hey Crabbe? Goyle?"

The pair looked surprised, as they usually did when Draco actually spoke _to_ them, not _at_ them. They spent a few long seconds exchanging glances, trying to figure out who would respond. Finally, Draco grew impatient.

"You're my friends… right?" he added. Crabbe gave a tentative smile and nodded. "And you follow me around and listen to me and do what I say…" Draco paused. This made them sound like blockheaded dogs, but he guessed it wasn't the worst comparison in the world. "Would you still worship me and be my bodyguards and all if I told you I was gay? And dating Harry Potter?"

This seemed to puzzle them. Goyle scratched his head.

"Well, I'm gay. And I'm dating Harry Potter."

He watched them a minute. Either the realization was taking a while to set in or they were totally fine with Draco's announcement. He would have liked to be optimistic and guess the latter, but their blank stares were suspiciously non-comprehending. Well, he supposed that this was the best reaction he was going to get anyway. It was a hell of a lot better than Pansy's reaction was going to be. Speaking of which, he supposed he should find her before someone else did.

He stood up and Crabbe and Goyle immediately followed. "No, no, it's okay," he said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and pushing them back down. "I don't need an entourage this time. You wait for me here."

"Okay," agreed Goyle, pulling out a pack of Exploding Snap. He and Crabbe didn't know the rules very well, but they liked the noise.

"Draco," Crabbe said unexpectedly, "we don't care who you date. You're still our friend."

Draco paused on his way out of the portrait hole, surprised. He looked back at the pair, but Crabbe's burst of emotion had evidentially been too much to handle, and he'd turned to helping Goyle set up the cards. Draco couldn't help but smile. Then he exited the room, leaving them to their game; he knew that was how he'd find them, no matter how many hours later.

And it very well could be a few hours before Pansy stopped yelling at him.

* * *

"Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked, poking his head into the Transfiguration classroom. He was lucky; she was sitting at her desk with a pile of scrolls to correct.

She looked up in surprise: "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Just a hypothetical question. What would you say if I told you I was dating Draco Malfoy?"

His query struck her enough that she actually put her quill down and took off her glasses. She carefully polished them on her robes, then replaced them gently on her face and looked at him narrowly. "Is there something you wish to tell me, Mr. Potter?"

He considered the question carefully. "Well, not so much _tell_ you as _ask_ you. What would you say if I told you I was dating Draco Malfoy?"

She gave him a stern look, and he thought for a moment that maybe he was too rude, not that he had never crossed _that_ line before. "Mr. Potter, _are_ you dating Mr. Malfoy?"

"Er- yes?"

She picked her quill back up and began marking someone's homework. "If you were to tell me you were dating Draco Malfoy, I would warn you not to do anything foolish. And I would wish you luck."

He stared at her a moment, but she didn't look up. A slow smile crept over his face. "Thanks, Professor," he said, and ducked out of the room. But if he had stayed a moment longer, he would have seen the corners of her mouth twitching.

* * *

"Hey, Pansy!" Draco called, running to catch up with her. She stopped and beamed at him.

"Hello, Draco," she cooed. He tried not to grimace. "How _are_ you today?"

"I'm fantastic," he said. "Harry and I had a great date last night."

It was rather interesting to watch her face. First it flickered with confusion, then anger, pure outrage, then… humor?

"Oh, Draco," she giggled. "You're so funny."

"I wouldn't _joke_ about Harry!" he said indignantly. "Well… maybe before… but he'd be really mad at me if I made fun of him now that we're dating."

The laughter on her face flickered. "D- dating?" she asked uncertainly. "Dating Potter?"

"Yes, I'm _dating Potter_," he replied sarcastically. "And yes, Pansy, that means I'm gay."

Her face twisted in disgust and disappointment. "You're dating Potty!" she cried in her shrill voice. "You- you lied to me!"

"Actually, I believe I told you that you were a disgusting cow and I'd never go out with you in a million years, remember? That's the truth."

"But- but you _used_ to like me!" she wailed pathetically.

"Correction. My father _used_ to make me like you. Because he wanted me to marry you and get your money and your family's good name. But now that he's in Azkaban, I have the freedom to decide that your family's name is shit. Just like mine. And I love Potter."

It seemed only fitting to wheel around and storm away after this dramatic speech. So he did so, heading for the dungeons. Snape wasn't going to be happy.

* * *

"Guess who I'm dating?"

Harry wasn't sure what Professor Trelawney was more confused by: the fact that Harry had climbed into her Divination tower for the first time in his sixth year, or the question he immediately set upon her. He watched in mild amusement as her face flickered.

"Ah, Harry Potter," she said in her usual ethereal tones. "I'm glad to see you, my boy, but of course I anticipated your arrival. The spirits must be guiding you to me, so that I may impart to you this most grievous news. I was gazing into my crystal ball last night, and to my horror, I saw-"

"Draco Malfoy?" Harry interrupted.

"Death!" she finished dramatically, then squinted at him. "Mr. Malfoy? What has he got to do with it?" Suddenly her voice was a lot more normal.

"Hm. Well, if you saw death, maybe he's going to kill me. But at this point, I think it's more likely that he's going to marry me. But I suppose you already knew that, too."

He practically fled down the ladder. That was the last time he'd ever go up there. That tower reeked and made him want to throw up, as always.

* * *

"Excuse me, Professor Snape? I have a question. You know how you like me and hate Potter? Well, if I were dating Potter, would you hate the both of us or like the both of us? Or would nothing change, and I'd have to cry every time you picked on him in class?"

If not for the long years of practice and patience, Snape would have overturned his cauldron and spilled the potion everywhere. He continued stirring carefully and fixed Draco with his best sneer. "Mr. Malfoy, the probability of such an event is highly unlikely."

Draco considered that for a moment, while Snape continued. "I am sure that you would not… _lower_ yourself to him."

"Oh no," Draco said brightly. "I'm the dominant one. He usually lowers to me."

This time Snape really did drop the ladle into the potion. There was a hissing sound, and a cloud of white smoke filled the dungeon. Draco figured it was the spirit of Salazar Slytherin giving him a sign, so he quickly made his escape through the thick cover.

* * *

"Hey Ginny!" Harry called, catching up with her. "Going to meet Dean?"

"Yes," she said, eyeing him suspiciously. "But if you breathe a word of it to Ron…"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm here to talk about _my_ love life," Harry said cheerfully. "See, a while back, I realized that the reason I kept staring at other boys' arses was because I was gay. Now I'm dating Draco!"

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "That's Draco _Malfoy_, yes?" she inquired. "The one whose father gave me the evil diary and almost got me and you and Ron killed?" Harry thought it over.

"I think so, yes. But it's okay, he promised me he would refrain from fatally wounding any of my friends while we were dating."

"Well, as long as he doesn't step out of line, I won't use the Bat Bogey Hex on him anymore," she said calmly. "I imagine you wouldn't like that. It makes his face rather ugly."

"And hard to kiss," Harry agreed, and stopped walking to head back to the common room. "Thanks, Ginny."

"No problem," she called back. "And if Ron asks, I'm in the library!"

"Right!"

* * *

"Hi, Weasley," Draco said cheerfully. "I'm not going to call you Weasel anymore. Or insult you. Or do anything mean, in fact. Harry said he'd cut me off the sex if I did. We're dating. Did I tell you?"

He sped away, leaving Ron gaping after him. The redhead tried to talk, to force out an answer, long after Draco had disappeared.

"Hi, Ron," Harry said, walking up behind him. "Hey, I have an odd question for you. What would you say if I told you Draco and I were dating?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME FIRST??" Ron bellowed. Harry blinked.

"I think that's the most creative response I've had all day."

"I had to find out from MALFOY," Ron said scathingly. "You don't think I would be standing in the hallway, acting like a fish if I weren't seriously disturbed by something, do you?"

That was a tough question. Ron had, in fact, been known to do that. "Well, I'm dating Malfoy," Harry said lamely.

"I _know_," Ron said with an eye roll. "Bloody hell, Harry, and I thought we were close…"

"Sorry, Ron," Harry said, and he was sincere for the first time that day. "I wasn't sure how you'd react… and Draco and I decided not to tell _anyone_- until today, that is. Sorry Draco got to you first."

"That's okay, Harry," Ron muttered, appearing mollified. "Say, do you know where Ginny is?"

"Library," Harry replied promptly.

"Thanks, mate," he said, heading in that direction. Harry winced. Oops.

* * *

"Granger, did I ever tell you that I never really meant all the supremely asshole things I've said to you?" Draco asked, trying to smile charmingly. "I think your blood is quite clean and lovely, in fact. What type are you?"

Hermione was sitting in the library, eyes glued to a copy of _An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe_. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you and Harry are dating, would it?" she asked. "Type A."

"Hey, me too!" Draco said. "How did you know about Harry and me?"

Her eyes never left the page. "You've been dating since January. January 16, to be exact. I'm a girl. I'm Harry's best friend. I'm top of the class. I know these things."

He watched her read. "Oh. Hey, Granger, if I ever need a blood transaction, will you be my donor?"

"Sure thing, Malfoy," she replied absently, trying very hard to fight the smile threatening to take over her whole face.

* * *

Ron entered the library just as Draco was leaving it. For some reason, Malfoy gave him a wave and a smile, which made him wonder briefly if the whole world had been hit with a Confundus Charm. Then he remembered.

"Hey, Hermione, have you seen Ginny?"

"She was here a moment ago, but she just left," Hermione lied easily. Ginny had prepared her cover stories well. "I think she went back to the common room."

"Oh. Funny I didn't meet her." Ron said distractedly. "Say, did you know that Harry and Draco are _dating_?"

"Yes," she said, not lifting her eyes. "Draco was just in here to tell me. But I knew before. You didn't think Harry was _really_ studying in the library all weekend, did you? Or that he had suddenly developed a passionate interest in Astrology and gone out stargazing every night? And what about those times when he disappeared for three hours and said he was in the loo?"

"I just thought he had bowel trouble," Ron said sheepishly. "My mum always warns me about eating healthy so everything comes out easily, and I'm pretty sure Harry doesn't get enough fiber."

"Too much information, Ron," Hermione said, shaking her head and burrowing further into her book.

* * *

"Cho!"

Cho Chang turned around. Her face was unreadable as she watched Harry run toward her; they hadn't spoken much since their fight last year. "Yes?" she asked, a little stiffly.

"Know something funny? After we broke up, I realized that I was gay!" Harry laughed. "And now I'm dating Draco Malfoy!"

Her mouth opened once, twice. "But…"

"Oh don't worry, it's no insult to you," Harry assured her. "I wasn't gay while I was dating you. Well, I suppose I was, I just didn't know it. I mean at the time I thought girls were pretty, and really I still do, I just don't care how pretty girls are anymore. But I sure care about how sexy Draco is! Have you ever noticed how nice his arms are? Most people talk about his hair, or his gorgeous gray eyes, and yeah those are hot, but I really appreciate his arms. And they are _stronger_ than they look! He can hold himself above me for like hours-"

"Thanks for informing me, Harry," Cho said hastily, taking a step back. "Bye!" And she bolted.

"But really it's not supposed to be an insult!" Harry hollered after her. "You're still one of the prettiest girls in the school and I'm sure you'll find a fantastic straight man someday! _Oww!_" An owl swooped though the window and dropped a heavy package on his head.

He picked up the scroll. It was from Lupin. Oh, good; a quick response to Harry's letter yesterday, when he explained the newest development in his romantic life to his former professor and the rest of the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place.

_Harry,_

_Of course no one here is angry or upset, and I hope no one at Hogwarts is giving you a hard time either._

No, not really. Of course, Harry hadn't given anyone much time to be upset; he and Draco had agreed yesterday that the safest way to come out to the school would probably be to blurt it and run.

_I think it's wonderful that you've found someone to make you happy. Molly is reading this over my shoulder and crying on it. _(Yes, he could see several tear stains.) _She's gasping that she's so _happy_ for you and that she hopes Draco treats you nicely._

Oh, they had no idea.

_I hope to see you soon, but in the meantime, keep in touch. And when you are sneaking around the school, meeting Draco wherever- do try not to get caught. That happened to Sirius several times, once in a highly embarrassing situation._

He could just imagine. But Sirius hadn't used the Room of Requirements. Chances were slim that they would be caught there.

_Good luck with classes, and with Draco,_

_Remus Lupin (and Molly Weasley)_

* * *

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" Draco blurted, seeing his chance.

The tall wizard stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked. Maybe it was Draco's imagination, but he could have sworn that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling more than ever.

"Er…" Draco silently cursed himself for getting Dumbledore's attention. When he and Harry had agreed to tell _everyone _about their relationship, they had made laughing accusations that the other would wimp out. The upshot was that they had made solemn written agreements to inform the most important people in their lives immediately upon sight, and if either of them broke the promise, he would have to be the victim when roleplaying their vampire-seduces-willing-victim story, and they both dearly wanted to play the sexy vampire. So now Draco was stuck finding a tactful way of informing Dumbledore that he and Harry had been shagging in the Room of Requirements for three months. "I… I'm dating Potter?"

Dumbledore beamed. "Congratulations, my boy. I wish you both the best of luck in whatever fate may bring you." Draco got the impression that the omniscient elderly wizard had already known. He sort of wished Dumbledore had rephrased his blessing, though. It sounded like he meant a bloody child.

Well, that might not be so bad. But not right now, anyway. His mother would never forgive him for dropping out of school early to raise a baby.

* * *

Moments after the first owl landed, another one swooped in the window and delivered a second note to Harry. This one was from Tonks. Harry winced. His letter to her had been even stranger than his other queries, because he may or may not have been distracted by Draco's beautiful, teasing hands sliding across his chest and down his pants while he tried to write it.

_Tonks,_

_Hi. How are you? I'm dating Draco Malfoy. I like him. I think he's cute. Have you ever seen him? You met his father. He's in Azkaban. He's a jerk. But Draco isn't._

_Harry._

_Harry,_

_Bugger. A bunch of guys here stole your letter and are reading it out loud. Sorry about that; have I ever mentioned that Aurors are really immature? They've been driving me crazy lately so I'm heading to our mutual friends' place for a few days' vacation._

_Hope things are good with you and Draco – he's my cousin, after all, so say hullo to him for me!_

_Tonks._

* * *

"Harry's dating _Draco_," Ginny said, sitting next to Hermione in the library. "I can't believe I wasted so much time chasing after him! Glad I'm with Dean now." Ginny grinned. "I finally stopped crushing on Harry after I noticed that he was paying far more attention to Charlie's chest than mine last time he visited the Burrow. Of course, I always knew that having an older brother built like that meant that my friends would be gawking at him…" she poked Hermione, who had the grace to blush.

"Speaking of older brothers," Hermione said, trying to maintain her dignity (it wasn't _her_ fault that Charlie Weasley was such delectable eye candy), "Ron was looking for you earlier."

"Oh, damn," Ginny said, jumping up. "I'd better go find him. He did mention that he wanted to play wizard's chess with me today, I guess he was counting on it. See you, Hermione!"

* * *

"Hey, Dean. Hello, Seamus," Harry said, walking up to them. They were slouched on the couch in the common room. "Guess what? I'm dating Draco."

"You're dating Draco?" Seamus asked, shocked. "No! You can't be dating Draco!"

Harry bit his lip. "Look, Seamus, I really like him. I know Draco used to be a right git, but he's changed, and he wants a chance to prove it. Please, just give him a chance…"

"Oh, stuff it, you moron!" Seamus interrupted angrily. "Why, in Merlin's name, are you dating Draco of all people? Don't you know how much you've screwed everything up?"

Harry winced. This was going very badly. "Listen…" his voice trailed off as Seamus ungraciously reached into his pocket and dumped a handful of coins into Dean's lap.

"Five Galleons!" Dean crowed. "Way to go, Harry."

"What- you-"

"You're a downright unhelpful git, Harry," Seamus muttered. "You were supposed to start dating Ron, not Draco."

"Ron?" Harry asked blankly. "Ron's straight."

Dean crowed again and Seamus let out a noise of disgust. "That's another five Galleons," Dean said happily. "Cheers, Harry!"

"Oh," he said blankly. "Right, well, I feel loved."

"Are you _sure_?" Seamus demanded. "Really, I swear that Ron is as bent as Ludo Bagman's nose."

* * *

Dean and Seamus made their way to the library to look up a book on Quidditch, still arguing about their red-headed roommate's sexuality. They found Hermione curled up in a comfortable chair, deeply engrossed in her book and with a slight smile on face.

"Hey, Hermione," Dean called.

"Oh, hello," she murmured absently. "How are you?"

"Ten Galleons richer!" he said happily ("_Five_ Galleons richer," Seamus interrupted sharply, "you still haven't won that other one yet"). "I won a bet."

"Oh," Hermione said politely, trying to return to the reading that had already been interrupted many times today. Dean's excitement, however, could not be contained. "Guess what bet I won!"

"What bet did you win?" Hermione asked patiently.

"Well," he said, leaning closer, "Did you hear that Harry and Draco are dating?"

"_Yes_," Hermione said, trying to control her exasperation. "Yes, I heard it once or twice today."

* * *

"Hey! You're the Creevey boys, right?" Draco asked, catching up with Colin and Dennis. They both looked completely petrified by his presence. Come to think of it, one of them _had_ been petrified once, right? He decided not to share his clever pun with Harry later; the boy-who-lived was still a bit touchy about all those times he'd almost died.

"It's okay, I don't bite," he assured the still-scared brothers. "Only Harry."

Colin moved his hand from his camera to his wand; Draco figured he was about to try cursing him for insulting his idol. "No, no, the _good_ kind of bite. Love bites."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Colin asked uncertainly. "You're dating Harry?" Draco nodded.

"What are love bites?" Dennis asked loudly. Draco raised an eyebrow; Colin ignored his younger brother. "Answer me this then," the older Creevey challenged. "What color underwear does he wear?"

Draco stared at him for a moment. "Well, it's usually off when he's with me, but I think red and gold." He smirked. His lover was so cute in his Gryffindor colors. "Oh, but he has this great black thong. Always turns me on." He felt a tingling in his nether regions just remembering Harry strutting around in that skimpy bit of cloth.

"Okay, write that down," Colin whispered to Dennis, who nodded eagerly and pulled out a big thick, book. Harry's picture graced the front of it, the likeness looking extremely puzzled and sheepish.

_Oh, Merlin, what have I done?_ Draco thought. He'd have to apologize to Harry for this one… either that or never, never tell him.

Colin swung the camera up and Draco instinctively took a step back. "Can I take your picture?" Colin asked.

* * *

"Hullo, Katie," Harry said, sitting down next to his fellow Quidditch player. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Harry," she said cheerfully, turning away from her homework to smile at him. "You?"

"I'm dating Draco Malfoy," he replied casually. Katie's hand gave a reflexive jerk and she spilled ink all over her parchment. "You're doing what?!" she demanded.

"Snogging Draco Malfoy."

"Doing _what?_"

"Shagging Draco Malfoy."

"Harry Potter, are you giving him our secret Quidditch strategies?" she demanded.

"No! Of course not!" he said, taken aback. "I wouldn't!"

"Okay then," she said, turning back to her homework and blotting the ink off. "As long as you don't go easy on him in the games."

"No," Harry said thoughtfully. "See, I'm dominant in Quidditch, so that makes it okay for him to be dominant in bed."

Katie spilled ink again and swore. But Harry was long gone, bolting for the portrait hole.

* * *

"Gryffindor girls!" Draco called after Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They turned and favored him with identical expressions of disgust.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Parvati asked coldly.

"Well," Draco said bashfully, lowering his gaze to the ground. "I know you might find this hard to believe, but Harry Potter and I are dating. In fact, we've been together for a while; we were just too shy to tell people about it." Speaking modestly, Draco thought it was a crying shame he was gay. He was so good at manipulating female emotions that he bet he could charm the pants off of any girl in the school, if he wanted to. Sure enough, the cold expressions on the girls' faces melted away into gooey smiles. Lavendar actually squealed.

"No, we totally believe you," Parvati said breathlessly. "We figured Harry had found a girlfriend – er, boyfriend – anyway because he's been whistling at breakfast the same way Dean does when he gets lucky with Ginny." Draco coughed; people in this school shared too much information.

"I bet you and Harry look so _cute_ together," Lavendar beamed. "Tell us when your next date is, we'll help you plan it!"

"You have to let us pick out your outfits!" Parvati said, wriggling with excitement. "I think Harry should wear green, and if you dress in blue, I bet you'd totally knock each other out!"

Draco refrained from telling them that was the usual end result of their dates anyway. "So where are you two ladies headed?"

"Oh," Parvati sighed, "We're going to see Firenze. For an extra-credit assignment, you see," she added hastily. Lavender broke out into giggles.

"Oh. Can I come?" Draco asked. He didn't think Firenze had heard the news. Of course, he also didn't think that Firenze would be interested, but Malfoys left no stone unturned.

* * *

When Harry bolted out through the portrait hole, he nearly knocked down Neville. "Oops, sorry about that," he said, helping him up. "Did I tell you I was dating Draco Malfoy?"

"Oh, that's okay, Harry," Neville said, freezing in the middle of brushing himself off. "What?"

"I'm dating Draco," Harry repeated. "We do all the romantic couple stuff, like grope each other in class and feed each other chocolate pudding and he'll tickle me if he thinks I'm feeling depressed. We even copy each other's homework, and Draco _still_ gets higher marks than me in Potions."

* * *

Katie went to the library to get a book for her homework. "Hello, Hermione," she said cheerfully. "Have you heard? Harry's dating Draco Malfoy."

"Really?" Hermione grit her teeth. "I never would have guessed."

"Hermione!" Colin and Dennis cried together, running in. "Harry and Draco! Isn't it great?"

"Bloody wonderful," Hermione snarled.

* * *

Firenze was standing in the middle of his classroom, head lifted upward studying the stars projected onto his ceiling when Lavender and Parvati entered, Draco in tow. He slowly lowered his head to look at the students. "Hello," he said quietly. "Hi, Firenze," Lavendar squeaked, then fought to control her giggles. "We're here to ask about – about that extra credit assignment," Parvati said, blushing deeply.

Firenze nodded slowly. His gaze shifted to Draco. "Welcome, Draco Malfoy."

"Hi," he said cheerfully. "I'm the lucky guy who's dating Harry."

This didn't seem to faze Firenze. "Yes," he said thoughtfully. "Yes, the stars showed the union of two enemies."

Draco grinned wickedly. Oh yes, they 'united'. "Did the stars show you that last night Harry and I went for three straight rounds?"

Lavender and Parvati's jaws dropped simultaneously. They looked like they were fighting shock, disapproval, and amusement. Firenze actually blinked. And Draco ran away.

* * *

Neville wandered into the library and sat down next to Hermione, who put her book down long enough to smile at him. "Harry's confusing me a little," he said in a small voice.

Hermione sighed heavily. "Let me guess. He's dating Draco Malfoy?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "But why is he going around the school dropping the news like a bomb on people, and then running away?"

"I don't know, but I wish he would stop," Hermione muttered, "and spare me the trouble of hearing it every ten minutes."

* * *

"Hi. Luna Lovegood?" Draco asked, smiling at the lost-looking Ravenclaw.

She looked up dreamily. "That's what some people call me."

"Oh?" Draco asked quizzically. "What do the others call you?"

"Loony Luna," she replied simply.

"Oh," Draco winced. "I guess I was one of those people. Sorry about that."

She smiled at him, but otherwise didn't react.

"Well, I'm dating Harry," he tried.

She nodded. "Okay," she said, sighing.

He stared at her.

She stared at him.

"Er. Bye," Draco said.

She nodded and continued to stare at him.

"Er- that means I'm gay," he said.

She nodded. And kept staring.

"And taken," he added.

She stared.

"So- I don't know if you were kind of interested in me- the way you keep staring-" he said nervously.

"Oh, no," she said dreamily. "I'm not interested in you."

"Oh. Okay. Good, then."

She kept staring at him.

He decided to just walk away. When he rounded the corner, his eagle owl came swooping down and landed on his shoulders, depositing a letter in his outstretched arms. "Oh, good, Mum's written back," he said out loud. _Oh, shit, Mum's written back._

He opened the letter slowly, afraid of what he might find. Well, it was entirely unlike what he'd expected.

_Oh, Draco, that's wonderful! All I can say is that you had better not do something stupid and screw this relationship up. I think you and Harry must make a wonderful couple, I saw him at the Quidditch World Cup, remember darling, and I thought that his dark hair complemented yours perfectly. When you get married, I think you'll look dashing in white suits. I'll begin making plans right now; it's never too soon. I'm glad your father is still in Azkaban and doesn't know about this, because I don't think he'd approve, but rest assured that I DO!!_

_Much love from your extremely proud mother!!_

* * *

"Hey, Hagrid," Harry said. "Oh, hello Fang."

"Harry!" Hagrid greeted. "Anything new?"

"Well, I don't think so," he said brightly. He knelt down and patted Fang on the head. "Hi, Fang, old buddy. Fang, did I tell you I started dating Draco Malfoy?"

"Yeh WHAT?!?" Hagrid bellowed.

Harry looked up. "Oh, Hagrid. I didn't realize you were listening."

"Harry, you're dating that Slytherin scum?" Hagrid growled.

Harry thought about that for a minute. It didn't _seem_ like a trick question. "Yes."

Hagrid abruptly froze in the middle of shouting his next question. "Oh. Right, then. Yeh could have told me, Harry."

"Probably," he agreed.

* * *

Harry entered the library and found Hermione. He immediately felt guilty for neglecting his best friend that day. She should have been the first he told. "Hello, Hermione," he said, sitting next to her.

"I _know_ Harry is dating Draco!" she said loudly. Then she looked up. "Oh, hello, Harry."

"Er- so this makes my big announcement to you kind of pointless," Harry said lamely. "But, I'm dating Draco."

She sighed loudly. "Harry, if I had a Sickle for every person who told me about you two today, I'd _buy_ this book instead of reading it in the library."

"Oh," he said, not knowing what to say. "Or you could save up for that new Potion's kit you wanted."

"That too," she agreed. "Want to go to supper?"

"Sure," Harry said.

* * *

They got a lot of weird stares from people in the hallway, mostly people Harry had run up to and blurted out his big news. They met up with Ron in the Grand Hall, who was gloating over beating Ginny in wizard's chess. Harry waved at Draco across the room, who blew him a kiss. He noticed Pansy giving him a death glare. Snape was glaring at him, too, but every glare was a death glare; he needed something more specific for this. Maybe an Avada-Kedavra glare.

Lupin and Tonks had already responded to Harry's letters, but he had also sent one out to Fred and George yesterday. He was just wondering what was taking them so long to write back, and if he would have to wait until the owl post during breakfast tomorrow to hear from them, when a barn owl flew in and dropped something on Harry's plate.

It was an envelope. It was red. And it was smoking.

"Who sent you a Howler?" Ron asked interestedly, leaning over.

"Fred and George," Harry responded, staring at it in apprehension. "I… I suppose I'd better-"

But before he could open it, it exploded. Fred and George's magically enhanced voices echoed through the Great Hall:

"_HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO,_"

"Well," Harry muttered. "That was a lot more effective than _our_ method."

"_HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO,_"

Across the hall, Draco was mumbling similar things. "And why didn't we think of that? Would have saved a lot of bloody trouble…"

"_HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO,"_

"Sheesh," Ron said, plugging his ears. "That gets annoying fast." Harry and Draco winked at each other across the room. They didn't care that, since everyone was staring at the two of them, the whole room saw.

"Eight o'clock tonight," Harry mouthed.

"The Room of Requirements?" Draco mouthed back.

"Yup," he nodded.

"_HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO, HARRY'S DATING DRACO_…"

**

* * *

**

The (multichapter) sequel, "Everyone Knows", is posted and completed.

See my profile for the story link. Thanks reviewers!! 


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